Hilton Jones

06/04/2023

Why does the new tax year start on the 6th and not the 1st April?

Happy new year. Tax year that is.

Yes the new tax year starts on the 6th April but have you ever wondered why it starts on the 6th and not the 1st?

Initially, and we are talking Middle Ages here, the tax year began on the Feast of Annunciation (known as Lady Day) which is the 25 March. The church was an important part of most people’s lives and naturally the Church Calendar was followed. We still see traces of this today in rental contracts which traditionally use Lady Day as one of the quarter days for collection, the others being 24th June (Midsummers Day), 29th September (Michaelmas) and 25th December (Christmas Day).

However, in 1752 the Julian calendar was switched to the Gregorian calendar which contained a mismatch because of the recognition of Leap Years which resulted in the new tax year starting on the 6th April.

No government has since seen fit to change the date to the first as it would mean a notional loss of 5 day’s worth of tax revenue in the eyes of the voting public.

05/04/2023

Beware of being price led. Not everything is as it seems at first glance!!

04/04/2023

Is it worth being incorporated?

With increasing tax rates, many clients are wondering if it is worth unincorporating and trading as a partnership or sole trader from a point of view of saving tax. (Tax is only one of many reasons for operating a Limited Company).

What I found was that there is no easy answer to this. In some cases, the numbers say it is better to be Limited and in some cases it isn’t.

However, there are just too many variables to be able to offer a “one size fits all” answer – what is the ownership split? are family members involved? how are vehicles purchased? are there any benefits-in-kind? is there any private element of non- BIK expenditure?

What I would say however is if the Company has any debt to repay, it is extremely unlikely that you would be better off unincorporating. Unlike a sole trader, the settlement of debt reduces the ability to pay a dividend which will reduce the amount of income tax a shareholder has to pay.

Not easy to follow but if you need any help, please get in touch.

03/04/2023

What’s your biggest work-related headache?

It’s important when I meet a new client that I fully understand their business, how it ticks, its culture, the owners’ aspirations and of course what their problems are.

I have just spent a lengthy meeting with a successful new client going through all of the above and more besides. It appears, like many businesses, they are of the opinion that their biggest problem is their workforce.

“How do we get the right people? People expect to be paid but don’t want to earn their money. People show no loyalty, no initiative. I have to micromanage or nothing gets done”.

Some think that the Covid Pandemic has shifted people’s attitudes to the work-life balance, others that it is a generational issue.

There is no easy fix for these problems but much that can be done – there are plenty of businesses to learn from who have a great workforce and (seemingly) no problems in recruiting great people.

We ourselves have had similar problems, taken advice from our mentors and learnt from our mistakes. I’m happy to say our present team is the best we have ever had in terms of attitude and initiative, but we have had to work at it.

I wonder what the general consensus is on this issue and what others have done to improve things?

29/03/2023

Many thanks to Hilton Jones for sponsoring a barrel of beer for Meltham Beer Festival 2023.

Cheers guys! 🍻

Beer Festival returns on 7,8 & 9 April 2023 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).

Tickets are available to buy online at:
www.ticketsource.co.uk/meltham/e-yaeoqy or from and Horses, Estate Agents, The Flower Box Meltham or The Fourth Fiend Taphouse

28/03/2023

Our April 2023 Newsletter is hot off the press and includes important information regarding the new tax year and how CIS Sub-Contractors can speed up their tax refunds. -contractors

Welcome to the April 23 edition of our new monthly newsletter, designed to be brief and to the point. Each month we will be keeping you informed of changes in legislation, important dates and general

15/03/2023

What's in Store for 2023?

11/02/2023

11/02/2023

Why pay a percentage of your tax refund to the tax provider? We charge a fixed fee meaning you will receive more money.

17/10/2022

Self Assessment taxpayers could be a target for fraudsters. Click for details

14 Oct 2022Self assessment taxpayers who are thinking about their annual tax returns for the 2021/22 tax year should protect themselves from being targeted by criminals, HMRC has warned. In the 12 months to August 2022, HMRC responded to more than 180,000 public referrals of suspicious contact from....

12/10/2022

Our new website address has been aligned to our email addresses - hjca.co.uk

12/10/2022

A day at Accountex Summit in Manchester, catching up with our current software and IT suppliers and sourcing new products for our clients.